"Fascist, fascist!" Roma Luma political party counterprotests anti-Government demonstration in Czech Republic
A small group of Romani people who are followers and members of the Roma Luma political party have counter-protested an anti-Government demonstration convened by the "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (SPD) party in Liberec, Czech Republic. Ahead of the demonstration, six pink pigs labeled "SPD" were installed in a nearby park to "welcome" those attending.
SPD chair Tomio Okamura had to contend with an unfavorable atmosphere when he was called to the podium. The followers and members of Roma Luma, equipped with plastic whistles, expressed their disagreement and chanted “Fascist, fascist!”
Okamura was upset by the unpleasant moment but subsequently did his best to improvise and speak with the counter-protesters. “This is ridiculous. People have laughed at me my whole life for having slanted eyes. You’re absolutely out of it,” Okamura responded, adding that the Romani counter-protesters should behave decently.
“We have several Romani members in the SPD,” Okamura continued in his effort to silence the counter-protesters. A Romani counter-protester responded with “They’re sellouts, you paid them.”
“He was provoking us by saying we pose a danger to the state. How are we a threat? We’re the only nation without blood on its hands. We’ve never started any wars, we’ve never murdered people,” Josef Čisár of Náchod told news server Seznam Zprávy at the scene of the counter-protest.
After the demonstration, however, Okamura posted a video to social media falsely claiming that the Romani people were counter-protesting because “SPD is advocating for legislation to end welfare abuse by inadaptables.” Other SPD members also addressed those demonstrating against the Government of Czech PM Petr Fiala, such as Radim Fialam and Jaroslav Foldyna, as did the chair of the ultranationalist Tricolor movement, Zuzana Majerová.
